German DAX nears record as Wall St rally lifts European stocks

European stocks rose on Friday, pushing the German DAX towards record-high levels, lifted by signs of progress in U.S. debt ceiling negotiations. The pan-European STOXX 600 index rose 0.4% by 0708 GMT, set to end the week with slim gains. The German DAX rose 0.3%, after closing at its strongest level of 2023 on Thursday.

European stocks rose on Friday, pushing the German DAX towards record-high levels, lifted by signs of progress in U.S. debt ceiling negotiations.

The pan-European STOXX 600 index rose 0.4% by 0708 GMT, set to end the week with slim gains. Miners and financial services companies were the top gainers among European sectors. The German DAX rose 0.3%, after closing at its strongest level of 2023 on Thursday. The index is less than 100 points below its all-time high of 16,290.19, hit in November 2021.

Wall Street's S&P 500 and Nasdaq notched their strongest close in over eight months on Thursday, driven by mounting optimism that a U.S. debt ceiling deal could be reached within days. Data showed German producer prices rose slightly more than expected to 4.1% in April, on a year-on-year basis, likely keeping the European Central Bank on course for more interest rate hikes.

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell and ECB President Christine Lagarde are scheduled to speak at separate panel discussions later in the day.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)